Phillips and Phillies obliterated to begin West Coast trip

Phillips and Phillies obliterated to begin West Coast trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The normalization for Tyler Phillips came entirely over two innings Friday night in Seattle.

The Phillies‘ rookie allowed a leadoff home run in the first inning, then a three-run homer and grand slam in the second. He was removed by manager Rob Thomson after recording just five outs as his ERA ballooned from 1.80 to 4.39.

The Phillies lost, 10-2. They’ve dropped five in a row, seven of eight and 12 of 16. It’s not quite a freefall yet … but it’s not good.

“The thing that bothers me the most is that I let the team down,” Phillips said. “I’ve got all these guys in here relying on me. I’ve got an entire fanbase relying on me to go out there and do my job. I’ve got my family relying on me. And it doesn’t feel very good.”

Beyond their starting pitcher getting hammered, the Phillies’ lineup is still scuffling in a major way. Bryce Harper has one hit in his last eight games. Trea Turner is hitting .149 in his last 11.

The Phillies have lost six consecutive series openers and are in danger of losing their sixth consecutive series. They’ve also used backup catcher Garrett Stubbs to pitch the final inning of a blowout in three of those last six series.

They have left-hander Kolby Allard, more of a Triple A depth piece, serving as the bulk pitcher behind opener Orion Kerkering on Saturday night with ace Zack Wheeler going on Sunday.

At 65-44, the Phillies’ winning percentage is as low as it’s been since May 29 in San Francisco to end their most recent West Coast trip. Their lead over the Braves is down to five games. It hasn’t been below five games since May 18.

The schedule gets no easier from here. The Phillies see Logan Gilbert, one of the American League’s top starting pitchers, on Sunday. From there, they go to Dodger Stadium to face the team with the second-best record in the NL. Then they finish up out West with four games in Arizona against a surging Diamondbacks offense.

To end their current skid, the Phillies need the big-money players to step up. Sometimes it’s that simple. The top three hitters in their order are a combined 6-for-61 (.098) during the five-game losing streak.

“I thought I gave a pretty good speech before the game,” Thomson said, “but I guess it wasn’t good enough.”